


can you stake me (before the sun goes down)

by doctorkilljoy



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst, Blood and Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, M/M, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Tags May Change, Temporary Character Death, Vampires, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:42:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24344443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctorkilljoy/pseuds/doctorkilljoy
Summary: What if, instead of being shot, Dave was killed by vampires in Vietnam? And what if instead of dying, Dave became like them?After the apocalypse, life is somewhat returning to normal for the Hargreeves family, Klaus is still mourning the loss of Dave. However, one night he meets a stranger, one who feels achingly familiar, and Klaus can't stop thinking about him.A series of murders sweep through the city, murders that hearken back to an incident in the jungles of Vietnam, he finds himself surrounded by danger. His one defense is the familiar stranger, and a family trying to pull itself back together.
Relationships: Dave/Klaus Hargreeves
Comments: 68
Kudos: 163





	1. and if they get me and the sun goes down into the ground

**Author's Note:**

> So I was rereading the comics the other day because hey, new season coming! Woohoo! And I had a really weird, awful idea and I wasn't about to let it get away from me. This is a WIP but unlike others in the past I actually have an outline for this one and vaguely know where it's going. There are elements from the comics I've used for my own ends which you'll see in this first chapter. 
> 
> Please mind the tags as they will change. As always, this work is unbeta'd. 
> 
> The title is from _Vampires Will Never Hurt You_ by My Chemical Romance because of course it is.

It was late. So late that if Klaus were back in his own time he'd probably be passed out on someone's couch by now. It wouldn't matter whose, either. Klaus was on duty, not exactly thrilled with the prospect, but Dave and Ben were with him, which was always fun. Klaus was smoking a cigarette and playing cards with Dave, while Ben supplied the commentary and refused to help Klaus cheat. 

They weren't the only ones up. Music and laughter floated up from the camp. A rather spectacular party was going on so the other troops could blow off some steam. After the mission, Captain Starkey thought they could use it. Klaus kind of wished he could be with them, but he also liked being out here alone with Dave. Just the two of them. Or, well, the three of them. 

Klaus preferred second watch. He'd usually start getting the shakes around then, and it was easier to deal with if he had something else to focus on. And the captain always made sure to partner Klaus and Dave on watches. Klaus thought at first it was because he wasn't trusted, but in truth, he and Dave worked better as a team. With Ben providing the color commentary, as always. 

"Do you have any threes?" Klaus asked.

"Go fish," said Dave. 

"Klaus, you don't have any threes either," Ben pointed out. 

Klaus hissed, "Shut up! It's strategy." 

Dave chuckled. "What's he saying?" He asked. 

"He's making fun of me and being mean," Klaus muttered. 

"Liar," Ben said, smirking. 

"Eat me," Klaus snapped.

"Boys, I don't want to have to separate you," Dave teased. 

Klaus smiled and offered him the cigarette. Dave declined and Klaus took a drag. "I don't know if telling you about Ben was the best or the worst decision I've ever made in my life." 

"It was either that or pretending you had an imaginary friend," Ben pointed out. 

Klaus related that to Dave, who shrugged. "I've heard weirder things. Hell, I've seen weirder things in this jungle than a fella being haunted by his dead brother." 

"Ugh, tell me about it," Klaus muttered. 

They'd found bodies in the forest, drained of blood, the necks were torn out as though a tiger had been at them. But it wasn't a tiger. They'd heard rumors about the Viet Cong recruiting vampires for their cause. Klaus hadn't believed it until Captain Starkey led them on a mission to find them. It was simple. Get in, burn the hut down, and get out. 

Klaus hadn't been prepared for what he saw, though he supposed he should have been. The vampires had gone up like kindling once they were exposed to the sun. Captain Starkey had commended them for their good work once they were back to basecamp. Dave hadn't been so enthused. He'd disagreed with the captain in private and in front of the rest of the platoon. What they'd done was reckless and would bite them in the ass. 

Captain Starkey told him to shove it, which was why they were on watch while the rest of the guys were off having fun. 

"I'm starting to think there's some truth to those stories about Nazis using werewolves as foot soldiers," Dave said. "Does Ben have any input?" 

Ben shook his head. "It's not like being dead gives me all the answers or something. I'm pretty confused." Klaus relayed the message.

"Yeah me too," Dave admitted. "I always thought Uncle Frank was just making that werewolf stuff up to scare us but now?" He glanced at his own hand. "Do you have any queens?" 

Klaus sighed and put out the cigarette. "Lucky guess," he muttered and handed over two cards. 

"Is there a reason you can't play an adult card game?" Ben asked.

"Fuck you," Klaus replied. 

Dave was about to ask what was going on when he paused. Klaus did too, there was a strange noise coming from the trees. They shot to their feet, but quietly, so as not to startle whatever, or whoever, it was. Klaus grabbed his rifle and Dave did the same, the cards were forgotten on the ground. Both froze, their guns pointed at the trees.

"Do you hear that?" Ben asked.

"What?" Klaus asked. 

"The music's stopped." 

It was true. Suddenly, everything around them was deathly quiet. Klaus could hear himself breathing and it was ragged to his own ears. Then there was the snap of a twig, and something was lurching him to the left. 

"Klaus!" Dave yelled.

Frozen fingers sunk into his flesh like daggers of ice, and there was the ghost of cold breath on his neck. Klaus slammed the butt of the rifle in its stomach, and it screamed. He turned and shot it in the face, only registering as it fell to the ground that the creature had fangs. "Oh fuck," he said.

Klaus turned just in time to see three of them seize Dave. Klaus lifted his rifle and aimed, but they were already biting into his flesh. Dave screamed, "Klaus! Get out of here!" 

"Dave!" Klaus cried, dashing towards them.

But the creature he'd shot was back on its feet, lips curled back in a snarl as it cut off his rescue. Its dead eyes focused on Klaus. 

"It's one of the VCV!" Ben said. "You need to find a wooden stake!" 

"Do you see any stakes around here?" Klaus exclaimed.

"At camp, the flag pole is made of wood, get it," Ben told him. 

Klaus dropped the gun and ran. 

As he dashed through the camp, Klaus saw bodies littering the ground. The Viet Cong Vampires must have swept through and killed them while Klaus and Dave were playing cards. Klaus felt sick as he saw the carnage that the VCV had wreaked on his fellow soldiers. He could hear it running behind him, the vampire. If Klaus was going to save Dave and himself, he needed that damn flag pole.

He finally reached the captain's tent, where out front, stuck in the mud, was a flag pole. It was the sort that you'd see in a classroom, and Klaus immediately grabbed it and broke it over his knee, wincing and the pain that it caused. He turned just in time to see that it was coming, and without thinking he slammed the wooden spike into the creature's chest.

It let out an unearthly howl and exploded into ashes. 

Klaus ran back to the clearing, only to find the other VCV were gone. The only thing left was Dave.

His eyes were open, but he was still, too still. His skin was chalky white, and his eyes were glazed over and staring at nothing. 

"Dave?" Klaus whispered, and knelt by him. He took Dave's pulse, and let out a sob when his hand came back wet with Dave's blood. 

He was dead. The only person Klaus had ever loved. Killed by ravenous creatures that they'd provoked by following orders. It felt as though the sun was going down, that the only happiness in Klaus's life was over. Dave was dead, the person he would have stayed in this time for. The person he fought in this stupid, senseless war for. And Klaus was alone in the world, with only a dead sibling for company. 

Ben was behind him, and he said, "Klaus, we have to go."

"I can't leave him," he said. 

"They'll come back! You know they will!" Ben insisted. "Klaus, please, we have to go." 

"No!" Klaus threw himself over Dave's body, holding him and saying, "I won't leave him here!" 

He closed Dave's eyes, caressing his face. Tears streamed down Klaus's face as he pressed a kiss to Dave's lips. He didn't care if they came back. They could have him too, what did it matter? 

"Klaus," Ben was pleading now, kneeling next to Dave's body. "Please. Dave wouldn't want you to die for him. There's nothing you can do for him now. Please… Please don't make me watch my brother die, too." Ben was on the verge of tears, and it moved Klaus into action.

He walked back through the camp. Klaus tried calling for someone, a medic, any survivors, but there were none. Everyone was dead. He saw Captain Starkey slumped on the ground next to his tent, mouth open in shock and throat torn out. Klaus spit on him and kicked his corpse as he walked past. He was far from the only corpse, but he was the one Klaus blamed at the moment. 

Then Klaus did want to be elsewhere. Someplace where the entire world didn't smell of blood and mud and shit. Somewhere that didn't smell like an open grave. 

Klaus entered the tent he shared with Dave. He saw that once again, Dave had forgotten to put his dog tags on. They were laid neatly on his pillow, as though Dave would come back for them any minute. Klaus picked them up and slung them around his neck. Dave wouldn't need them anymore. 

The briefcase was exactly where he'd left it, under his bunk. His fingers were still slick with blood as he opened it again. In a flash of blinding light, Klaus was back on the bus. He froze for a moment, unsure it was real. Unsure that any of it was real. Ben was next to him, and he asked, "Klaus? Are you okay?"

Klaus didn't answer. Instead, he calmly stood, signaled the driver to let him off, and ascended from the bus. He was on a very normal street, in his own time, but it didn't make sense to him, none of it did. Klaus screamed, slamming the briefcase on the ground, a bench, he didn't care. He wanted it gone. As the briefcase exploded, he crumpled to the ground, curling around himself and crying. All Ben could do was watch. 

What they didn't see, what no one saw, was after they left 1968. Two minutes after Klaus had closed them forever, Dave's eyes opened. 

And then the apocalypse happened.


	2. and if they get me take this spike to my heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are again! I hadn't actually intended to post again so soon but I've been working hard to get this story in the can. I should let you know the chapter lengths are going to vary wildly so some will be short while others will be on the long side, it just depends. This is somewhere in between.

Once the world had returned to normal, or as normal as it could get for a bunch of time-traveling superheroes, life was surprisingly calm. Allison could speak again, the lady cop was back on her feet, even Ben was back. How Five had swung that one Klaus still didn't know. 

Vanya was back from her vacation from reality, and she was doing better than ever. She was super apologetic about almost killing the whole world, which Klaus thought was kind of cute in a terrifying way. She was seeing a therapist for a lot of her issues, and on some new medication that didn't mute her powers but made them easier for her to control. 

Five talked about enjoying his retirement, and possibly even going to school. Not to learn of course, but to teach. Five had a crazy amount of knowledge about quantum theory among other things and he was surprisingly patient when the world wasn't about to end. The Commission wasn't a problem anymore so Five was a free man. And he looked adorable in his Academy uniform, lecturing people Dad's age on physics. 

Allison went back to California to be with her daughter but promised she'd invite everyone soon to meet Claire. She still wasn't using her powers (unless it was an emergency) and she wanted to get back to her career. Ever since the news broke about the apocalypse and how the Umbrella Academy stopped it, she was getting calls left and right. For interviews and for jobs. And she wanted to try for a normal life for her daughter. No one could blame her for that. 

Diego decided to try for the police academy again, and this time he got through without punching anyone. Patch was going to bust his balls so hard as a rookie cop, but the whole "the world ended" thing really put things in perspective for Diego, and he decided to try it Patch's way for once instead of the other way around. 

Unexpectedly, Ben and Luther became inseparable. There was so much of life they'd missed out on because of dying and their father respectively, they ended up doing a lot of firsts together. And Klaus wasn't jealous, he was totally not jealous. Ask anyone. But sometimes… He was lonely. 

It was hard to stay sober too when you didn't have anything to do or anyone to talk to. Mom and Pogo were gone, casualties of the apocalypse that they hadn't been able to bring back. Klaus sometimes found himself missing them, and he wished he could show them how well he was doing. Or at least how much he was trying. 

Klaus found himself bumming around the mansion most days, waking up at the crack of 3 PM and watching junk food TV until the dead of night. He'd get the itch about halfway through, but any time that he did, he thought of Dave. He had to stay sober, for him. If Klaus was going to see him again he had to stay clean.

His efforts didn't escape the notice of his siblings. 

One night, Five appeared in Klaus's room and said, "We're going." 

"Going where?" Klaus asked, frowning. He was watching some talk show that involved paternity tests and shouting, he'd long since tuned it out. The dull roar of the dead trying to get his attention wasn't easy to drown out when you weren't floating on an 8 ball. 

"Out. Come on," Five said. 

Klaus sighed and got off the bed. He was wearing jeans and not much else. He pulled on a shirt, his vest, and sneakers, and followed Five out to the car. Five drove, because Klaus still didn't have a driver's license, and he thought to himself he should probably get one someday. 

"Where are we going?"

Five didn't answer, instead, he kept driving. Klaus sighed and looked out the window. He watched the city pass slowly, the people going about their lives. Everything was normal. Everything was… Dull. 

The car stopped, and Klaus blinked. They were at an all-night diner, a real greasy spoon kind of place. Klaus got out of the car and followed Five inside. Apparently, whatever lecture he was getting, it was going to be a public one. 

Once they were seated at the counter, Five ordering coffee and Klaus ordering hot chocolate and waffles, Five asked, "What's going on with you?" At least he waited until the food was served. 

"Nothing," Klaus replied, taking a bite of his waffles. They were crispy, but they kind of tasted like air. 

Five sighed. "I know something is wrong. I don't know what, but something."

"It doesn't matter." He was so not in the mood for this. 

"You're not talking to Ben and he's worried." 

Klaus blinked. "Ben's busy having a life."

"What about Diego?" 

"Him and the lady cop are all snuggly again." 

"Luther?" 

"Are you stoned?" 

"Are you?"

And yeah, that hurt. Klaus didn't bother to hide it. "Six months clean. I haven't even had a beer." 

"Look, I don't want to have this conversation," Five confessed. "I'm not good at talking about my feelings, or anyone else's either. But we thought maybe if it was just one of us instead of everyone at once it might be easier to find out what's wrong." 

Klaus frowned. "You guys have been talking about me behind my back?" 

"Yes," Five was completely unabashed. "You won't talk to us, any of us."

"And you drew the short straw," Klaus muttered. Suddenly he didn't want waffles anymore, he wanted to leave the diner and never come back. 

"I volunteered. It's been made clear to me I need to communicate better with you, all of you. And… I know that during the apocalypse that myself and the others might have said and done a few things that hurt you. For that I'm sorry," said Five. 

Klaus snorted. "It doesn't matter." 

Five leaned closer to Klaus. "Either you spill the beans to me, or you have a heart to heart with Luther." 

"I take it our illustrious sisters don't have time in their busy schedules." 

"They have their own demons to wrangle, just like the rest of us. So what's it going to be?"

Klaus sincerely thought about telling Five to drop dead. He thought about doing the old bathroom slip away like he'd done a million times before. Instead, he blurted out, "I haven't seen Dave." 

"Who's Dave?" Five asked. 

He sighed, running his hands through his hair. "At one time, he was everything to me. We were lovers when I was sent back in time to Vietnam. He died, and I thought if I stayed sober I'd get to see him again. But I haven't been able to conjure him. It's making me wonder if this whole clean and sober gig is really worth it. What's the point if I can't see him?" 

Five, proving he really was wise beyond his years, kept his mouth shut. Klaus ate about half of his waffles then pushed the plate away. The hot chocolate was long gone. 

"I didn't know you were gay," said Five. 

"I'm bi," Klaus corrected. 

"My apologies. I didn't know that you're bi." 

"Yeah. Well, it's not a big deal. Dad hit the roof when I told him but that's nothing new." 

They fell quiet again. Then Five asked, "Did you look for him? When we went back?" 

"Yep, didn't find him," Klaus replied. 

"How did he die?" 

"VCV snuck into our camp, tore everyone apart. Everyone except me," Klaus muttered. 

Five raised an eyebrow. "Why not?" 

"Do I look like I know?" 

"I'm sure you don't, but vampires aren't known for their restraint."

"I kind of killed the one that came after me, but I never saw what happened to the other three." 

Five hummed and sipped his coffee. "Interesting." 

Klaus was about to say something when he violently shivered. This wasn't someone walking over his grave, this was someone jumping up and down on it. He looked up as a man entered the diner.

He was tall, lanky, and wearing a hooded trench coat that covered him from head to ankles. Klaus couldn't see his face, but there was something terribly familiar about him. The stranger said something to the waitress behind the counter and handed her a wad of bills. She handed him a bucket and he turned to leave. 

But then the stranger paused. He turned, and even though Klaus still couldn't see his face he got the sense the man was looking at him. 

"Who the hell is that?" Klaus asked. 

"Who?" Five asked, turning in his seat.

He was gone. Between one breath and the next, the stranger had disappeared.


	3. you put the spike in my heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have much to say right now because it's been an awful week. This chapter is short as well, sorry about that. Next one is a long one.

The next day, Klaus was having one of his mandated practice days. Unlike the nights where he'd be locked up in the mausoleum, he actually looked forward to these. Ben was in charge of helping Klaus with his powers since he had the most experience with them outside of Klaus himself. Being a formerly incorporeal being was surprisingly helpful. 

Today however they were studying first. Klaus was having trouble concentrating as usual, and he sighed and said, "I swear Dad used a thesaurus to write this." 

"Let me see it," Ben said, taking the journal from him. "Huh, okay that's a word I haven't seen much before." 

"What the fuck is a necromancer?" Klaus asked, leaning back on his arms. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor and not enjoying this one little bit. 

"Huh… Listen to this. 'In the annals of magical history, the necromancer is always defined as a person or persons who are able to control the dead. This is inaccurate. A true necromancer has an affinity for Death itself, so much so that Death may never touch them. While they can contact and control those who have shuffled off their mortal coil, they are capable of much more.' Then he kind of goes on to say how much you're wasting your talents." 

Klaus snorted. "Like I even wanted them. I wonder if that's why I don't stay dead."

Ben froze. "What?"

"Why I don't stay dead. You've seen me OD how many times now? Or that time in the nightclub when that asshole in the bowler hat fucking murked me. I always come back," Klaus pointed out. 

"I had no idea you actually died," Ben said. "Jesus Christ, Klaus!" 

"What? It's no big deal," he said, refusing to meet Ben's eyes. 

However, Ben shuffled over to Klaus and gave him a hug. "I'm sorry, I didn't know." 

"That I'm kind of immortal? Yeah, it's not fun. Also, I don't think Death is in love with me so much as God hates me," Klaus said. 

"God doesn't hate you."

"Okay, hate's a strong word. But she doesn't like me, she told me herself." 

They hugged for another moment longer, and Klaus wished that he could savor it. Bottle it up and use it whenever Luther and Ben left him behind to go do some fun thing they'd never experienced but Klaus had done a million billion times. Ben then pulled away and said, "Let's see what else Dad says."

"Ugh," Klaus threw himself back on the ground dramatically, an arm over his eyes. "Do I have to?" 

"Couldn't hurt," Ben replied. He was reading over it more and he said, "Oh, huh." 

"What?" 

"Says here that the blood of a necromancer is irresistible to vampires." 

"I think the VCV would beg to differ." 

"Yeah, that is kind of strange. Maybe Dad's wrong." 

"He's right more often than he's not, it's why we all hate him so much," Klaus replied. "This is boring. Can we switch to something else?" 

"Sure. Let's work on your conjuring," Ben said. "See if you can bring back someone and make them visible to me." 

Klaus frowned. "Five talked to you." 

"He said you haven't been able to conjure Dave. I think that's something we should focus on. You summoned Freddie Mercury last week, you should be able to summon Dave." 

"Hey, Freddie was amazing and fun to hang out with," Klaus said. 

"I'm not saying he wasn't, but in the same breath you seem to have some kind of block in regards to Dave, and we need to work on it." 

Klaus sighed and sat up again, crossing his legs and assuming his meditation position. He hated this. He was going to fail to call Dave just like he had the four hundred times before. Ben was sitting across from him and staring at him intently. 

He closed his eyes and thought of Dave. Of his crooked smile, his sandy hair, how he always smelled like aftershave even after three days hard march through the jungle. Klaus reached inside himself and touched his power, the power he'd had since birth. Once he tapped the well of the dead, he could hear the cries of the ghosts around him.

They screamed his name, they cried, they begged for his attention. But now wasn't the time. Now he needed to find Dave in the underworld and bring him here. Klaus could feel Ben moving closer, the one living spot in the field of the dead energy around Klaus. 

"Do you feel him?" 

"I'm trying," Klaus said. He was having difficulty sifting through all the other souls calling out to him. Pleading to be acknowledged. Begging him for help. Klaus gulped and tried spreading his net wider, past the Academy and its grounds. 

He could see the city stretching out before him. He could see the ghosts and spirits, but now he could see something else too. Little blips in his field of vision. When he tried to focus on them, they would vanish, like they were avoiding him. Klaus frowned as he found one in particular, almost like it was calling to him. 

It was when he connected with it that he realized his mistake. His mind was filled with blood, and the feel of human flesh splitting beneath his teeth. Klaus's stomach churned, and though he wanted to pull away from whoever, whatever, this creature was, he stopped. There was something familiar about it. Like he'd known them his entire life.

An image of the stranger from the diner flashed in Klaus's head. And then the connection was broken, and Klaus was thrown across the room like a rag doll.

He was too dazed to speak. His hearing was muffled, so he vaguely registered that Ben was yelling at him, but not what he was saying. Tears were running down his face, but when he reached up to wipe them away, he realized they were blood. 

Ben was helping Klaus sit up, and he realized that Five was there too. Five was waving a hand in front of his face and Klaus batted it away. "Quit it," he grumbled.

"Welcome back," Five said.

"You scared the shit out of me," Ben added. 

"Does anyone have a tissue? Or perhaps a tampon?" 

Five blinked out of the room, then came back with a box of tissues. Klaus used several to wipe the blood off his face. 

"What happened?" Ben asked. 

"I'm not sure. I was looking for Dave and then I… I don't know. I found something not human," Klaus told him. 

Ben was about to ask more questions when Luther appeared in the doorway. "Everything okay?" He asked. 

"Klaus--" Ben started but Klaus cut him off.

"It's fine. Training accident, won't happen again." 

Ben looked ready to argue, but Klaus shook his head and silently pleaded with Ben to keep his mouth shut. Ben huffed but nodded. 

"Are you all right?" Luther asked.

Klaus nodded. "Yeah, fine, peachy."

"Good. Because we have a mission," said Luther.


	4. and if the sun comes up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having a slightly better week this week. Things are still not great mind you but I don't feel so much like committing arson. I hope everyone's enjoying the story so far and I'd like to thank everyone who's left comments and kudos. This chapter's longer than the last so I hope it makes you smile. I should also mention next week's post is likely going to be Friday as I have some things I have to take care of Saturday so I won't be available.

They gathered downstairs. Klaus was surprised that Allison had joined them. "Hey, long time no see," he teased as he hugged her. 

"How're you doing?" She asked with a smile. Her voice was still pretty hoarse but she was sounding better every day.

"Can't complain," he replied. 

Vanya was over by the bar, trying to hide. Klaus wouldn't let her, he went right to her and wrapped his arms around his sister. "Hey half-pint, how's it going?" 

"Fine," Vanya said, squirming a bit. 

Klaus let her go and smiled at her. "Can I get you a drink?" 

"I've got it covered," Diego said. He was standing behind the bar and handed a drink to Vanya. "You want a Coke?" 

"Shirley Temple please," Klaus replied. He couldn't drink but he could pretend at least. 

"Comin' up," Diego replied. 

Vanya went and settled on the couch, Allison next to her. They were talking about something that Claire had done that was oh so cute. Klaus sighed and rubbed his face. Ben and Luther were talking by the fireplace, while Five was settled with a margarita all by his lonesome. 

Diego handed Klaus his drink and asked, "Really though, are you okay? You look awful." 

"How dare you, I happen to look fabulous," Klaus replied. 

Diego scowled at Klaus but didn't comment further, instead going to sit down with the others. Klaus vaguely entertained the idea of walking out of the room. Whatever this mission was, he got the sense all of a sudden that he didn't want to be a part of it. 

Instead, when Ben sat down next to Diego and beckoned him over, Klaus sighed and plopped down next to him. He slurped his Shirley Temple as Luther stood in the center of the room and began to talk. 

"I'd like to start off by apologizing to everyone for disrupting your routines," Luther said. "I know that we don't assemble all that often, but I wouldn't have asked everyone here if I didn't think it was important." He took a deep breath like he was trying to center himself. Luther hadn't been the most steady leader since the whole apocalypse thing. His realization about why he was sent to the moon didn't help. 

"Three days ago, someone busted into Dr. Terminal's old lab and made off with some of his equipment. You may recall that not even our father could figure out how to get in," he explained. "Fortunately for us, many of the machines are broken and useless. Unfortunately, not all of them were. We're not sure precisely what was stolen or why, but we need to find it and destroy it before it can be used."

"Do we have any theories?" Allison asked.

"None so far. I've been trying to investigate on my own but I've hit a wall. It's why I want us to go to Dr. Terminal's lab and poke around," he replied.

"Wait, what if there's something in there? Something that's still active?" Ben asked.

"I've already checked, there aren't any booby traps and most of the equipment is inoperable from years of neglect," said Luther. 

Klaus sighed. "So we're gonna go poke around the mad scientist's lab and see what pops up, huh?" 

"How do we know Dr. Terminal isn't the one who got in?" Five questioned, frowning. 

"He's been at the Hotel for years," Diego said. "No one gets out of that place." 

"The Hotel?" Five asked. 

"He means Hotel Oblivion," Allison said. "Dad built it to hold our super-powered enemies. I'm not sure what all went into it but he always said that no one escapes the Hotel. No one has seen Dr. Terminal, the Murder Magician, or any of our old foes since they were imprisoned there." 

"Your tax dollars at work," Klaus muttered. 

"I thought Dad paid for it out of pocket," Vanya said. "He still had the patent on Clever Crisp Cereal." 

"No, the government realized they couldn't handle prisoners like Dr. Terminal so they paid Dad to get rid of them," Diego said.

"My point is," Luther interrupted. "If someone's after Dr. Terminal's equipment that can't be good for us. I don't know about you, but I didn't fight to stop the apocalypse only to have another one start." 

"Luther's right," Five said. "We should check this place out." 

"Agreed," said Allison. 

"Okay, let's put it to a vote," said Luther. 

That was one of the new rules now. Every mission had to be a unanimous vote by the family. Luther raised his hand, as did Allison and Five. Ben raised his hand as well, followed by Vanya. Diego was frowning, and it looked very much like he was going to keep his hand down. But then Vanya shot him a questioning look and he sighed, raising his hand. 

Everyone looked at Klaus expectantly. He still wanted to go upstairs, see if he could find that stranger again. Ben nudged him with his elbow, and Klaus sighed and raised his hand, still holding his Shirley Temple.

"Okay, great, suit up," Luther said and left the room.

"I don't own a suit," Klaus muttered and Ben chuckled. 

"You know what he means, come on," Ben replied. 

As Klaus was about to go upstairs, he saw that Vanya was looking a little lost. "What's wrong?" 

"I just… My room," she mumbled.

Klaus sighed again. When Vanya had moved out, declaring she'd never return, Klaus laid claim to her room and knocked out the wall that separated the two. He hadn't thought about how that might affect Vanya, only that he wanted more space than his little closet of a bedroom would allow. 

"Come with me," he said and led Vanya upstairs. Once there, he turned a corner and gestured to a room at the end of the hall. "It's where I moved your stuff."

Vanya opened the door, and Klaus couldn't help smiling at her little gasp. 

It had never been used, and it was the size of Allison and Luther's rooms combined. Klaus could never figure out why Hargreeves would want to shove them in such close quarters when there were suites like this. Klaus had moved Vanya's furniture, her music, her books, even her old violin. 

"It's a little dusty, but it's yours," Klaus said with a shrug.

Vanya turned and threw herself at Klaus, hugging him tightly. "Thank you," she said. 

"Don't worry about it." He smiled at her and strode down the hall to his room. 

Klaus didn't bother changing, however. He simply put on a little more eyeliner and brushed his hair. He looked at himself in the mirror. You'd never know an hour ago he'd been crying blood. He sighed and blew a kiss to himself, saying, "Let's go knock 'em dead." 

When they met again downstairs, Klaus laughed at the sight in the front hall. "Where'd you dig this old thing out from?" 

"Storage," Luther replied. "I'm not sure we'll all fit but it's easier to get around in than the car." 

Klaus chuckled and touched the side of the Televator. "I thought it stopped working." 

"It did," Five said, appearing next to Klaus. "I fixed it." 

"You little genius!" Klaus said, pinching his cheek. Five slapped his hand away and glared at Klaus. 

Once everyone was together, they got in the Televator and Luther programmed in the coordinates. The others had pulled on their black superhero onesies, even Diego. Klaus stood out in his tie-dye shirt and leather pants. 

"Are you sure about that?" Ben asked him, gesturing to Klaus's outfit. 

"Too late to change now," Klaus replied. 

They stepped out into the lab, and Klaus got a lungful of dust and God only knew what else. Five blinked over to the light panel and turned it on, and they paused to take it in. 

The lab was old and hadn't been used in ages, so Luther had been right about that at least. Klaus could see track marks in the dust where someone had been moving something heavy. 

"Spread out and search for clues," Luther said, and the others obeyed. 

He went over to the left, where a giant fish tank was covered in dust bunnies. He frowned and wiped some of the dirt away, wondering what in the hell Terminal had been keeping in there. Klaus looked down and saw there were tracks in the dirt. They looked like two people were dragging something heavy. 

Following the footsteps, he nearly ran into the opposite wall. There was a curtain hanging over it, and Klaus pulled it aside to find nothing but tile. But the tracks stopped there, so there had to be something. He saw there were fingerprints in the dust, and Klaus pressed them, feeling some of the tiles give way. He lept back as the wall swung outwards, revealing a passageway. 

Klaus had that weird feeling again, and his whole body trembled. He was about to call out to his siblings when something grabbed him around the middle, a hand going over his mouth. He found himself being dragged down the tunnel at a dizzying pace. Klaus, who had picked up a few tricks from being the middle child, licked the hand.

"Ugh! Did you just lick me?!" And the hand fell away from his face. 

" **Help!** " Klaus yelled and struggled to break the man's grip. 

"Why you little--" 

He was thrown to the floor, and Klaus rolled onto his back just in time to see the man from the diner grab his captor and throw him into a wall. The would-be kidnapper snarled, fangs out and pink hair flying. Klaus could just make out the lower half of his savior's face, and Klaus saw a flash of fangs. Klaus was overcome by the strangest feeling, and time seemed to slow down for a moment. 

If Dave's death was like the sun setting, this felt like dawn coming at last. And Klaus couldn't explain it. He was drawn to this man, a stranger who felt so familiar… It made Klaus feel as though, after a long journey, he'd come home at last. 

He grabbed Klaus's arm and forced him to his feet, then pushed him towards the tunnel entrance. "Get out of here!" He yelled, then ran after the other man down the tunnel. 

"Klaus!" 

Diego was jogging down the tunnel, knife in hand, and Allison right behind him. 

"Some guy just grabbed me--" 

"Later, we gotta split," Diego said, grabbing his hand, and they ran the opposite direction. 

"Hurry up!" Luther yelled. 

"What in the fuck--" 

Klaus was shoved into the Televator, smacking right into Vanya and Five. Ben was crammed in the corner as Diego and Allison ran in. Luther slammed the doors behind him and pressed the button for home. The Televator suddenly rocked to the side, and Klaus heard a rumble that sounded like an explosion.

When they were back at the Academy, they trooped into the living room. 

"So much for no booby traps," Diego hissed. Luther had the good grace to look embarrassed. 

"I'm sorry when I did the initial sweep there was nothing," he said. 

"And you somehow missed the big fucking secret tunnel that Klaus of all people managed to uncover," Five snapped. 

"Yeah! Also, hey!" Klaus stuck his tongue out at Five. 

"What happened to you?" Vanya asked Klaus. 

He ran a hand through his hair. "It was… It was weird. I saw these tracks and I followed them to where I found the tunnel. And I had this… Feeling." 

"What feeling?" Asked Ben. 

"Like I was getting a hug from a snowman," Klaus said. "And I felt like I needed to follow it. Then this guy comes out of nowhere and grabs me. Oh, then, that guy from the diner showed up and saved me." 

"What guy?" Luther was giving Klaus a puzzled look. 

"When Five took me to that diner to have a heart to heart. Which, by the way, you suck at," Klaus said and Five rolled his eyes. "There was a guy there in a hooded trench coat buying a bucket of something from the waitress. I've never seen him before but I'd swear I know him from somewhere." 

"And you say he just showed up and saved you?" Allison asked. 

"Yeah." 

His brothers and sisters exchanged worried glances. "Are you…" Diego started, and Klaus groaned. 

"I'm clean! Okay?! Fucking clean and sober for six months now! Hell if you count the time in the apocalypse I've been clean for two years! I'm not making this up! He saved my life and I have to find him!" 

Allison was biting her lip, and she said, "It's not that we don't believe you, it's just--"

"Ugh, fuck all of you!" Klaus said. "I'll find him myself. Have fun with your stupid mission, try not to blow yourselves up!" 

"Klaus wait!" Ben called, but he ignored him. 

He stormed up the stairs and rushed into his room, slamming the door behind him. He'd find the stranger, and find out why he felt like… Home.


	5. will it tear the skin right off our bones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry I'm so late. I wanted to post the chapter this morning but stuff happened. Then when I got home I had more chores so i'm just getting to it now. Also I don't know who's in charge of the social media for The Umbrella Academy but they are **KILLING ME** with these teasers. I hope we get a trailer soon. Enjoy

When the sun rose, Klaus had collapsed into bed, exhausted. After the blow-up at the lab and the confrontation with his siblings downstairs, he'd been wiped out. He spent most of the day asleep, having twisted dreams about jungles and fangs, and someone calling his name. 

He awoke in a cold sweat and wanted nothing more than to curl over and try to get back to sleep. But someone was knocking on his door and it was getting on his last nerve. Klaus growled as he got to his feet, and threw the door open yelling, "What?!" 

It was Ben, who was looking at him as though Klaus had struck him. "I came to see if you were okay?" 

Klaus sighed and rubbed his face. "I'm sorry. I didn't sleep well." 

"You look like death warmed over," Ben replied. "You need to eat."

"Not hungry," Klaus replied, going back over to his bed and collapsing in it. 

He heard a pop, and Five was standing over him with a breakfast tray. "Too bad, it's time for breakfast."

"It's more like lunchtime," Ben corrected. 

Klaus groaned, but he managed to sit up as Five put the tray in his lap. He saw waffles, eggs, and orange juice. He could see this for what it was, a peace offering. He looked at Ben and Five and said, "Thanks." 

They both sat down as Klaus struggled to eat. He wasn't lying, he wasn't hungry. As a matter of fact, he felt pretty sick. He knew in the back of his head he needed to eat something to get his strength up, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to find the man who'd saved him. 

"Where are the others?" Klaus asked. 

"Allison and Luther are checking out Terminal's lab, what's left of it," Ben said. 

"Did they check the tunnel?" 

"Leads to the sewers looks like Terminal installed it for a quick getaway in case we ever raided the place." 

"What about Diego and Vanya?" 

"Vanya's with her therapist, Diego's meeting up with Patch. She's got a case she wants him to look into." 

"Oh, right, he's got a day job now," Klaus mumbled. He ate about all he could stomach, then put the tray on the floor. Five was staring at him and Klaus frowned. "What?" 

"We think we know what was taken from Dr. Terminal's lab," Five said. 

"Okay, and?" 

Five handed Klaus a file, which he opened and read. Dr. Terminal was pretty fucking crazy because he'd created a machine that would essentially be a zombie maker. "So someone's trying to unleash the Walking Dead?"

"We think so, we're not sure," Five admitted.

"It doesn't make sense though," Ben added. "I mean, Terminal's whole deal was he consumed other life forms to absorb their energy and keep his own illness at bay. Why would he want to raise the dead?" 

"It might have been a ploy to continue to feed after he'd consumed the world," said Five. 

"But if he did that there wouldn't be any corpses left for him to reanimate," Ben said. 

Klaus sighed and rubbed at his face. "Maybe it's not for him."

They paused and looked at him. "Come again?" Ben asked. 

"Terminal, maybe he didn't build it for himself," Klaus said. 

"He didn't exactly play nice with others," said Five. 

"Duh. Doesn't mean he didn't though." 

Ben was pursing his lips, and he asked, "Who would he build it for then?"

"The Murder Magician, the Ogre Doll… You know, Mother War would love it. Then her little boys who fall in battle could get right back up again," Klaus said. 

Ben glanced at Five. "He has a point." 

Klaus shrugged and got out of bed, going to the dresser. Five and Ben were talking about what to do with a zombie machine, but he tuned them out. He had his own agenda for the day. He slipped the talking board out of its hiding place along with the planchette, then walked out of the room. 

"Where are you going?" Ben called. 

"I gotta work on something," Klaus replied. 

He went upstairs to the attic, setting himself up in his special corner. Klaus was still a little fuzzy from his troubled sleep, the dreams still fresh in his head. He knew they were connected to the stranger, but how he wasn't sure. It didn't matter, he was going to get some answers, and he was going to find the stranger. 

The ghosts were crowding around Klaus, following him like they always did. Mostly they made demands of him or told him gruesome details he didn't want to hear. Not today, today they were going to make themselves useful. 

Klaus sat cross-legged on the ground, the spirit board in front of him, and fingers on the planchet. He took a deep breath and let it out, imagining a barrier between himself and the ghosts. There was only one that he was interested in talking to, and he materialized as though it were the most natural thing. 

"Master Klaus," said Pogo.

Klaus smiled. "Hey Pogo."

"How can I be of assistance?" 

"First off, I want to say, I'm sorry we couldn't bring you back."

Pogo shook his head. "It couldn't be helped. My time was over, I knew it as soon as Sir Reginald announced his plans." 

"Still, I'm sorry. You weren't the best father figure, but you were still better than Dad." 

"I feel as though I should defend Sir Reginald."

"Don't bother, he can defend himself. If I ever decide to talk to him again," Klaus replied. "I need you to help me find someone." 

"Of course." 

Pogo sat down across from Klaus, and his hands joined Klaus's on the planchette. Klaus closed his eyes, letting Pogo's energy play against his own. He moved the planchette around in circles, focusing on the man in the hooded coat. When his eyes opened, it was to see that Pogo was gone. 

The other ghosts had disappeared as well, though Klaus could still feel them. He watched as the planchette spelled out a phrase. B-R-I-C-K-T-O-W-N. Klaus grinned and pushed the planchette to "goodbye" and got to his feet, heading back downstairs. 

He stopped by his room to grab a jacket, and an old pendulum shaped like a planchette. While yes he could ask Pogo's ghost to just talk to him, it was hard to filter Pogo from the others for long periods. He also wanted to layer up as the sun was going down, and it was getting colder in the evenings this time of year. When he reached the bottom of the staircase, it was to see his siblings gathered in the living room. 

"What's going on?" Klaus asked. 

"We might have a problem," said Ben. "Sit down."

Klaus wanted to ignore him, waltz out the door, and find the mystery man. But instead, he sat next to Ben as Diego took center stage. 

"Eudora asked me to investigate some strange murders. On the down-low, since the homicide unit is stumped," Diego said. He was holding a file and he handed pictures out. They showed various people in different states of decay. All of them had their throats ripped out. "Someone has been bumping off local witches, psychics, mediums, anyone who's associated with the paranormal community." 

"We have a paranormal community?" Klaus asked and Ben snorted. 

"Yeah, it's a small one, but it's there," Diego told him. "I asked Eudora, and she said not a drop of blood was left at any of the scenes. At first, it looked like they were killed and dumped, but forensics says they hadn't been moved." 

"Are there any suspects?" Allison asked. 

"It's probably a vampire," Five said nonchalantly. 

Allison, Diego, Vanya, and Luther stared at him with disbelief. "There's no such thing," Luther said. 

"Yes, there are," Five replied. "Not as many as there used to be, the Commission decided they were a threat to the timeline a few years back. Agents like myself, Hazel, and Cha-Cha were tasked with exterminating them. Once it was determined they repopulate too quickly for us to eliminate them all, the Commission instead proposed a truce. Vampires won't interfere with history, the Commission won't wipe them out." 

"That's… Insane," Diego said. 

"Five's right though," said Ben. "We saw them when Klaus was in Vietnam." 

"You what?" 

Klaus sighed. "They killed Dave." 

The room fell quiet. While everyone knew about Dave in one way or another, he'd never spoken about his death before. As much as Klaus liked being the center of attention, the one thing he couldn't stand was pity. 

Five however blinked in front of Klaus and asked, "Was his throat torn out?" 

"What?" Klaus frowned at Five. "Why?" 

"It's important. Was his throat torn out?" 

He shook his head. "No. I mean… He was dead. I checked for a pulse, there wasn't one. But his throat was still there."

Five looked at Ben, then back at Klaus. "That's a problem."

"Why would that be a problem? What, was his death not traumatizing enough? Should the vampires have made it worse?" Klaus was angry, and he was ready to get in Five's face, but Ben put a hand on his shoulder and kept him from standing.

"If his throat was in one piece he might not be dead. Not completely." Taking in the blank stares around him, Five groaned. "Fatal vampire bites are infectious. The only way to keep a victim from rising as one of them is by ripping the person's throat out." 

"Are you saying Klaus's boyfriend is a vampire?" Allison asked incredulously.

Ben was frowning, but he said, "Klaus hasn't been able to conjure him. At all. If he's a vampire that might explain why." 

Klaus couldn't believe what he was hearing. Dave wasn't dead? But that was impossible. Dave was gone, Klaus felt it when he checked for a pulse and found nothing. He got up and left the room, ignoring his brothers and sisters calling after him. He was trapped inside his thoughts. For the first time in months, he was tempted to snort something, drink something, welcome the numbness that went with substance abuse.

Instead, he left the Academy and headed to Bricktown.


	6. and then as razor sharp white teeth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again. I'm sorry I don't have much to say again there's been a family emergency. Please enjoy.

It was getting late, and as Klaus had predicted it was fucking cold out. He had the pendulum in hand and was following the direction it pointed. He'd been out for an hour, hoping that he could find the stranger and get some answers. The words of his siblings were still running in his head, and it was hard to concentrate. Klaus also got the nagging feeling that someone was following him.

When a hand landed on his shoulder, he jumped, yelled, and turned, smacking Diego in the face with the pendulum.

"Ow! Hey!" Diego said.

Klaus sighed "What do you want?" 

"Trying to keep you out of trouble. What are you doing down here anyway?" Diego asked. 

"Trying to find that guy," Klaus said. He had the pendulum out again, and it stuck straight forward. Diego didn't say anything, instead, he followed Klaus as he walked. Klaus wanted a cigarette, or maybe to go home. But he wouldn't be able to rest until he found the stranger. 

"Five said you saw this guy at a diner?" Diego asked. 

"Yeah, and he saved me at Dr. Terminal's lab," Klaus replied. 

"Why's this so important to you?" 

Klaus was tempted not to answer. There was so much he kept from his siblings; his kidnapping, his torture, details about Dave… He was fine if they thought he was a fuck up who couldn't take anything seriously. He didn't have a problem with that. He would never, ever, leave himself emotionally vulnerable to them.

He'd made that mistake with their father, and look how that turned out. Locked in a mausoleum overnight again and again. 

Except… In the apocalypse, they'd had to rely on each other. They were stronger together. And Klaus had spilled the beans more than he'd meant to. This was going to be one of those occasions, and Klaus couldn't help it. 

"I get this feeling from him. It's like… Remember when we came back, and the Academy was still in one piece, and the lady cop was standing outside it waiting for you?" 

Diego grunted, which Klaus took to mean yes. While Klaus didn't like talking about his feelings because of being vulnerable, Diego had a problem with it because he was too manly. It was literally the same problem just phrased differently.

"That's how I feel when I'm around him. I don't know this guy, I don't even know his name. And somehow he makes me feel like a million dollars." 

They had walked four blocks now, and the pendulum suddenly veered in another direction. Down a dimly lit, dead-end alley. Klaus was shivering now, the same sensation as the diner and the lab washing over him. 

Diego noticed and put a hand on his shoulder. "What is it?"

"He's nearby. Stay here." And Klaus walked into the alley alone. 

The pendulum was still leading him forward, but then it suddenly veered to the left. It flew out of his hand and embedded itself in a door. Klaus frowned, but he went to the door and wrenched it open. 

He found himself inside an abandoned warehouse. It was quiet, except for the creaking of the wooden floorboards under his feet. Klaus's heart was in his throat as he called, "Hello? Anyone home?" 

There was a loud thud behind him, and Klaus slowly turned. 

The stranger from the diner was blocking the exit, and he said, "You shouldn't be here." 

"I had to find you," Klaus replied. "I… Thank you, for saving me."

"I'm serious, get out of here. If Sanderson finds out he'll kill me then you," he said. 

"Who's Sanderson? And why…" Klaus trailed off. 

There was a beam of moonlight coming in through one of the windows. The man stepped forward just as he pulled his hood down, and Klaus felt as though his blood had frozen in his veins. 

"You have to leave," he said. 

"Dave," Klaus whispered. 

He paused, tilting his head to the side. "Who?" 

"Dave! You're alive!" Klaus couldn't control himself, he threw his arms around Dave and squeezed him. He was crying, unable to hold it in. "I thought you were dead! I saw them kill you."

He pulled away, hands on Klaus's shoulders, and staring at him with confusion. "Who's Dave?" 

Klaus stared for a moment, then said, "You don't know who you are, do you?" 

"No, I'm sorry. I had a bad turn so I don't remember much from my human life," he replied. "Everyone calls me Scout."

"Fuck's sake. Look, your name is Dave. We were in the same unit in Vietnam. We were… Together," Klaus muttered. 

Dave chuckled. "Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't say no to such a beautiful man. But I think I'd remember if my boyfriend were a necromancer."

"Wait, how did you know about that?" 

"It's why Sanderson's after you. He heard there was a necromancer somewhere in this city and he's been tearing the place apart trying to find you. We need to get you home before he figures out where you are," Dave replied. 

"Only if you come with me."

He hesitated and then shook his head. "No, I can't. I can smell your blood and you have no idea how hard it is not to take a bite out of you. Go home." 

Klaus smirked at him. "You know I might be up for that." 

Dave was about to answer when he froze, body tense. He pushed Klaus towards the door and said, "Get going!" 

"I'm not leaving without you!"

It was then that Diego came in the door, and when he saw Dave holding Klaus's arm, he immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion. He pulled a knife and threw it right at Dave! 

The blade sunk into Dave's arm and he cried out. 

Diego shoved Klaus towards Diego and said, "Run!" 

He fought Diego tooth and nail, but unfortunately, Diego had always been much stronger than Klaus. In the end, Diego picked him up, threw Klaus over his shoulder, and ran out of the building. Klaus kicked and screamed, but it was no use. By the time they'd turned the corner, Klaus knew that Dave was gone again. 

When they got back to the Academy, Klaus was despondent. Dave had been right there! 

"Where have you two been?" Luther demanded when they came in the door.

"Getting cockblocked," Klaus snapped.

Diego rolled his eyes. "He was going to hurt you."

"He was trying to protect me!" Klaus shot back.

"What happened?" Allison asked. Vanya, Five, and Ben were right behind her. 

"We have a lead," Diego replied. "Klaus's boyfriend is the killer."

"No, he isn't! Some guy named Sanderson is!" 

Five frowned. "Do you mean Cal Sanderson?" 

"Hell if I know, Dave just called him Sanderson."

"Do you know him, Five?" Luther asked.

"Prominent vampire leader, he was one of the ones the Commission negotiated with. He wasn't happy about vampires having to keep a lower profile," Five said, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"Yeah well, Dave knows him. He says Sanderson's looking for a necromancer, it's why he's been killing those mediums and psychics," Klaus said.

Ben gasped, then said, "So he's looking for you?" 

Klaus paused, then said, "Huh, yeah, I guess. Dave said if that Sanderson guy found out I was there he'd kill me." 

"Then why was he trying to drag you away?" Diego asked. 

"He was trying to force me to leave. I didn't want to," Klaus admitted, hugging himself. "I just found Dave, I didn't want to lose him again. Not that it matters since apparently, he doesn't remember me."

"Why not?" Vanya asked. She had stepped close to Klaus, and she gently took his hand, squeezing it.

"He doesn't remember his human life at all," he said quietly.

Allison and Ben exchanged glances, then they pulled Klaus and Vanya into a hug. It was a group hug in less time than it took for Klaus to smile and try to wave them off. The truth was, he needed it. To have Dave so close then snatched away again, it was almost too much for him to take. 

Five was the first to pull away. "I still have a few contacts with the vampire underground. I'll see what I can find out about Sanderson. And how to help Dave."

"In the meantime, Klaus," Luther fixed him with a piercing gaze. "You're grounded."

"What?" He yelped.

"I'm serious. If this guy is after you, you're in danger," Luther looked at Five. "Is it true vampires can't enter a place if they're not invited?"

"Yeah. Holy items aren't much of an impediment but hanging some garlic around wouldn't be a bad idea. Also, we'll need stakes so maybe break up a few chairs and start whittling," said Five. He then vanished. 

"Let's get to work," said Allison. 

"Come on, I know some stuff upstairs we can use," Diego said. 

"I'll find the garlic," Vanya volunteered as Allison and Diego left. 

"I'm going to see about securing the building," said Luther.

That left just Klaus and Ben. 

"Don't worry, I'll protect you. I'm sure the Horror is a match for vampires," Ben told him.

Klaus was crying again, and he wiped at his face, feeling stupid for being so weepy. Ben sighed and hugged Klaus again. 

"It's going to be okay," Ben assured him. 

"Sure it will," Klaus replied, though he had a hard time believing it.


	7. rip out our necks, i saw you there

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay and we are getting close to the end! Three more chapters after this one which of course means it's a few short weeks until the new season. Thank you so much to the people who have commented and left kudos so far. Still having a rough time but I'm determined to make things work. I might have a few other ideas for future fics too, we'll see.

The next few nights were some of the most boring and also the most frustrating of Klaus's entire life. When Five came back from talking with the vampires, he confirmed it was Cal Sanderson and that yes, he was after Klaus. 

"Why though?" Ben asked. 

"Necromancer blood is a kind of energy boost for a vampire. It gives their undead blood more potency and gives them more power," Five explained. "He wants Klaus's blood as he's planning a coup."

"So basically he's looking for the ultimate undead 'roid rage and he's gonna use it to take over the vampire government?" Klaus said.

Five nodded. "That's the long and short of it. The other leaders are on to him, so they're amassing their forces to take him down. But it's taking them longer than anticipated to gather their soldiers."

"How long?" Luther asked. 

"About four days. Sanderson knows who you are, so don't leave the grounds until they get here," Five replied.

And that was the most frustrating part. They wouldn't even let Klaus leave during the day! He was stuck inside all the time like a prisoner. Sometimes they would allow him into the yard, where they'd dumped their father's ashes, but that was about the extent of it. He wasn't allowed past the Academy gates. 

That didn't mean he wasn't kept busy.

They'd sharpened so many stakes that Klaus had lost track. Everyone had been practicing using the stakes as a weapon in tandem with their powers. Diego, it turned out was as adept at throwing stakes as he was at throwing knives. Luther lacked the finesse necessary to use one, as his hands were far too large. Allison surprised everyone by not only being the best but the fastest with them, she did even better than Five. 

"How'd you get so good so fast?" Klaus asked.

Allison gave a short, slightly embarrassed laugh. "I was up for a part in a vampire movie once, but the funding fell through about four months into pre-production which was when I'd been working with a fight coordinator."

"What was the movie?" Vanya asked.

"A reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

"With you as Buffy I take it," said Diego. 

"Precisely." She smirked at them and Vanya laughed. 

Klaus wasn't exactly on board with the training. It felt kind of… Wrong. Especially since his boyfriend was one of the undead. Though could they really be together after this? Dave didn't know who Klaus was. Dave didn't even know he was Dave! And Klaus wished there was a way to help him. 

Then, Klaus had an idea. An idea that had to wait until his siblings had gone to bed. Once he was certain everyone was asleep, he slipped downstairs to their father's study. He read Dad's journal, the section about himself, hoping that maybe old Reggie had an idea or two that would help. He still hated the old man, but maybe there was something they were missing. 

Unfortunately, all that Klaus found were a lot of notes about how disappointing he was, which was not only unhelpful but discouraging. 

So he went downstairs to the library, browsing the titles there to see if there were any books on necromancy. Weirdly, there were four. 

"Heh, 'Number Four'," Klaus said to himself, in what he thought was a very good imitation of Sir Reggie. He pulled them down and started going through them.

The first book talked about the origins of necromancy, which was using the dead to tell the future. Klaus had never met a ghost that knew the future, most of them didn't know the present, they were too concerned with the past. So he tossed it aside. The next two books were a history of death magic but only talked about it in theory. 

The last book was exactly what he was searching for. 

When he opened it, Klaus was surprised to see a note inside. It had his name on it in his father's writing. A note from Dad… Klaus tossed it aside without reading it, not in the mood for more remonstrations from the old bastard from beyond the grave. 

The book talked about actual magic involving the undead, and one of the first chapters dealt with summoning them. From the description, it actually wasn't too different from conjuring a ghost, but it would require focus and strength of will. Two things that Klaus wasn't good at. But if he wanted to see Dave again, he would have to be. 

He read over the instructions six times before sneaking out into the greenhouse. It was just past sunset, and while he knew that no vampire could enter the house without an invitation, he wasn't sure how that would work for the grounds. Perhaps since this was still technically a building he'd have to invite Dave in. So long as it was away from his siblings, he didn't see a problem with that. 

Klaus stepped inside and saw a record player and a little tent there. He wondered who had set it up, but when he saw the record he knew. Allison, of course. Probably for herself and Luther, they were always sneaking away from everyone else. It was kind of cute, but also really, really weird. 

The book felt heavy in his hands as he sat down and crossed his legs. Klaus was barefoot, and the ground felt rough through his thin pajama pants. It was late now, probably three in the morning. He was going to be so tired when Ben came to wake him up at six. He always did that, because Ben was an asshole. Ben was also an early riser but the two were mutually exclusive. 

Klaus let out a breath and flipped to the page he needed. He closed his eyes and did his best to silence the chorus of dead voices around him. He was looking for one in particular, and this time he knew how to find him. The book talked about how the dead and the undead are linked, and that while they might have something that resembles life, they are still dead. It was like the same language but a different dialect. 

So Klaus was modifying his approach. He had a feel for Dave's energy, having run into him three times now. It didn't take him long to latch on to it. He felt it the minute he made contact. He could see Dave in his mind's eye, somewhere downtown. He froze and turned to look at Klaus. 

"I'm at the Academy, in the greenhouse," Klaus said. 

He then opened his eyes and waited. 

After half an hour, Klaus thought maybe he was wrong, or that perhaps he'd overestimated his abilities. But then he heard a knock on the greenhouse door, and he got to his feet. He threw the door open and Dave stood there, unmoving. 

"You have to invite me in," Dave said.

"Yes, of course, come in," Klaus replied. 

Dave rushed forward and wrapped Klaus in a hug. "I'm so sorry." 

"Hey hey hey, what's wrong?" 

He pulled away and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to forget you. It's just… After what happened in Vietnam it took me years to pull myself together. I forgot my human self completely, but for a long time, I was a ravenous monster. I don't know how many people I killed, but I regret them all. It wasn't until I saw you the other night I even knew anything was missing."

"Shh, it's okay," Klaus replied, kissing his cheek. He pulled Dave further into the greenhouse and sat on the ground with him. "How much can you remember now?" 

"More than I did," he said. "I know what my name is now. I know that we met during the war. And… I remember how much I loved you. The funny thing is? I don't think I ever truly forgot you, Klaus. Sometimes I'd see someone with your eyes or your smile, and I would stalk them for ages. I couldn't figure out what it was. Sanderson said I was remembering my maker, but I knew that wasn't true."

"So you two are pretty buddy buddy?" Klaus asked.

Dave shook his head. "After I got back to the states, I came here to this city because I vaguely knew I was from here. Sanderson was in charge, so I had to ask for his permission to stay. He granted it, but under the condition I serve him for two years. That was back in the 80s, he's the one who gave me the name Scout."

"It's a stupid name."

"It is, but that's not the point. He claimed he knew how to help me, but all he ever did was exploit me. I learned things in the Army, things that were useful to him so he could spy on his enemies or create new allies. He never would have helped me remember and when I realized that we parted ways. If I hadn't smelled you that night when you came to find me, I never would have remembered."

Klaus ran a hand through Dave's hair and asked, "What happened?"

"When I saved you from one of Sanderson's men, I was seen by another. They told him and he sent more to kill me. He figured out that you're the necromancer and that I'm important to you, so he's been chasing me around the city to try to use me as bait."

"I take it you're not making that easy?" 

"He's got some good men on his side but they're not as good as they think they are. It began coming back to me in waves, during my daytime rest. And today, I dreamed about you, and I knew they were memories," he said. Dave held one of Klaus's hands in both of his. "I'm so sorry, please know that I still love you. I'm just so confused."

"What's confusing you?" Klaus scooted closer to Dave so that their knees were brushing. 

"I still can't remember most of my human life," he admitted. "And what I can remember… I was a killer. Just like I am now."

"No," said Klaus. He crawled into Dave's lap, straddling him. "You know who you were before you got drafted? A baker, in your family's bakery. You liked playing baseball and listening to Simon and Garfunkel. You can't sing, and you are the most embarrassing dancer. Yeah, you killed people, I've killed people too. But that's not your identity or mine." 

Dave stared up at Klaus and looked as though he were on the verge of tears. One hand cradled Klaus's face and it was so familiar it made his heartache. Their lips brushed briefly, and Klaus knew that Dave was scared to kiss him. Klaus however had no such fear and kissed Dave instead. 

For a minute, everything fell away. He was with Dave again, they were kissing, everything would be all right. Dave's skin was colder, and it was kind of hard to make out with him with the fangs in the way. But Klaus was persistent and Dave sure as hell didn't seem to mind. One of Dave's hands slid up into Klaus's hair, while the other arm went around his waist, pulling him closer. 

The kiss deepened, and Klaus was breathing hard through his nose. In the back of his mind, he registered that Dave wasn't breathing at all. He couldn't feel Dave's heart beating against his own, and that was very, very weird. And oddly… Thrilling. Somehow, between that thought and the next, Klaus found himself on the ground with Dave on top of him, settled between his legs. Klaus groaned into Dave's mouth, and Dave echoed the sound while pulling away. 

"Klaus, stop," he gasped. 

"Do we have to?" He whined. "Come on, I helped save the world, I think I deserve to make out with my boyfriend for at least twenty minutes."

Dave frowned. "You what?"

"I'll explain later," Klaus replied and went to kiss Dave again.

Dave stopped him, saying, "I'm serious, we can't. I'm going to end up biting you if we keep this up and I don't want to hurt you."

"Uh… for the record I would be pretty into that," Klaus admitted, then grinned. "That's hot."

Dave stared at him for a moment in disbelief, then he laughed. "I should have known, you tacky sexual deviant."

"I am not tacky," Klaus said with mock hurt. 

Dave was about to speak again, but then he froze and looked at the door. Klaus looked up just in time to see the greenhouse door open and Allison walked in, turning on the lights. "Oh hey, Klaus--Get off my brother! Who the hell are you?!" 

And then Dave turned into mist and swept out the window. 

Klaus stared after him then looked at Allison. "Thanks for cock blocking me." 

Allison rushed to Klaus's side to help him up, but then she looked down and quickly back up, covering her eyes. "You, um…" 

Klaus sighed. "Yeah, I know." Because the cap on the evening was his sister seeing he had a huge boner.


	8. someone get me to the doctor, someone get me to the church

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're up to chapter eight which means we're getting closer to the end. Again I'd like to thank everyone who's left comments and kudos so far, it's kept me going to post on a semi-regular schedule. I'm still working on some other ideas for Umbrella Academy fics but I'm probably going to wait on those until after the new season comes out. Speaking of the trailer is completely balls to the wall insane and I love it. Enjoy

He was in for it now. Unsurprisingly his family was not understanding about Klaus inviting a vampire in. Even if it was only to the greenhouse and even if it was Dave. Five had been to get some information from his own vampire buddies and had come back and woken everyone up while Klaus was meeting with Dave. 

"Do you realize what could have happened?" Luther scolded, and Klaus sighed. 

"Yeah, I might have gotten laid," Klaus muttered. He heard a snort and he was pretty sure it was from Diego. 

"That's not what I'm talking about," Luther replied. "Look, I know you two were close, but he's a different man now. He could have killed you." 

"And I could have killed him, what's your point?" 

Allison sighed. "Klaus, we're concerned. We all know how much you love Dave. But you told us the vampires you met in Vietnam were monsters and Five's said the same. Maybe Dave--"

"The only thing that was in danger was my dry spell. He remembers me now! He wouldn't hurt me! Not even if I asked him to." 

Ben frowned. "Wait, you asked him to hurt you?" 

"Kinda, yeah."

Everyone groaned. "Jesus Klaus," Five muttered. 

"The point is, he's not dangerous, he's trying to help! More importantly he _needs_ help! That Sanderson guy is after him and I bet he'd stake Dave just to get at me. He sounds like that kind of asshole," Klaus said. 

"I've asked around," said Five. "And Scout was one of Cal Sanderson's most loyal subordinates. You're saying that he's just forgotten that because he suddenly remembered dating you? I know you've got experience but you can't be that good in bed." 

"Five!" Allison snapped. "Don't say things like that." 

"You guys are no fun," Klaus said. 

"This isn't about fun, this is about your safety," Luther said. "And until this… Vampire war is over, you're staying inside."

"Oh, what are you going to do? Handcuff me to my bed? I'm an adult, Luther, you can't ground me." 

"Have you forgotten what happens if this Sanderson guy gets a hold of you?" Ben asked. "It's not just about you and Dave, Klaus. This vampire wants to wage war on the world and with your blood, he might actually be able to. We didn't risk our lives stopping one apocalypse just to create another." 

"And Dave hasn't seen you in years," Diego pointed out. "It's too much of a coincidence that he remembered you right as his boss is primed for a coup." 

Klaus couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had all of his siblings turned against him? The only person who hadn't chimed in was Vanya, and he looked at her and asked, "V? What's your take?"

"They're right," Vanya said quietly. "The timing is suspicious. Dave has been in the city since before you were born. Shouldn't he have tried to find you before now? I just… I don't want what happened to me to happen to you." 

"Dave's not like Harold Jenkins or Leonard or whatever his name is. He loves me and I love him," Klaus snapped

"He's a risk," said Five. "One that should be eliminated."

Klaus stared at him, unable to believe what he was hearing. "You can't."

"My source is impeccable, Klaus. We have two more days until backup arrives. For all we know, Dave is playing you. Better safe than sorry," Five told him. 

"Whoa, hey," said Diego. "I'm all for keeping Klaus safe but murdering his boyfriend is too far." 

"We should vote," Luther said. 

"Like hell we will! You're not voting on whether or not Dave gets murked!" Klaus yelled. 

"Klaus, calm down," said Allison.

"Don't you fucking tell me to calm down!" He was breathing hard, anger taking over. "I finally have him back and I won't let you or anyone take him away from me again! If you do this, I won't forgive you! And I will fucking kill you!" 

"It's too risky--"

"Klaus wait a moment--"

"This is stupid--"

And they were all arguing at once. Yelling at each other and swiftly taking sides. Diego, Klaus, and surprisingly Allison on one side, Luther, Five, and Vanya on the other. Ben didn't speak up, which Klaus knew was bad. 

"Alright! That's enough!" 

Everyone turned to look at him. Ben then said, "We don't have to kill Dave. We need to wait this out. However, I'm insisting that Klaus stay in the house until after this is all over."

Klaus hated this, a lot. He then said, "If I agree to stay inside, do you promise not to kill Dave?" 

Five looked at Klaus and said, "I'm sorry," then vanished. 

"Fuck," Vanya said.

Klaus turned and headed for the doors. He was not going to let his brother kill Dave, no way in hell. 

"Klaus, wait!" Allison said, following him.

"Stay back!" 

"But Klaus--"

The room was awash in blue energy, coming from Klaus's palms. The chorus of the dead had quieted, the ghosts waiting for his command. "Hold them back until I'm gone," he said, and out the door he went. Another good thing from reading the book, he had a better idea of what he could do with his powers. 

Klaus ran out into the night, opening himself to the dead of the city. He'd be better able to locate Dave if he could find a quiet place to concentrate, though there weren't many of those in this neighborhood. Klaus had to get as far away from the Academy as possible before the ghosts lost power and his siblings came after him. 

He was so busy with escaping, he didn't realize someone was sneaking up behind him. Not until ice-cold hands wrapped around his waist and a voice whispered in his ear, "Gotcha." Klaus didn't have time to struggle as the world suddenly went black. When he woke up, he was inside a cage.

"Aw fuck," he whispered. Though it wasn't like any cage he'd ever seen. It was like a large test tube and he could see blinking lights and wires around the top. He felt drained, as though he hadn't slept in a month. He had no idea what time it was or how long he'd been there, as he couldn't see much of the room beyond the tube. 

After what Klaus estimated was a few hours, two men appeared in front of the cage. Klaus had been trying to summon the ghosts the whole time, but he couldn't even summon a dead ant. It was like someone had found the off switch for his powers. Something that Klaus would have paid Luther's weight in gold for once upon a time. Now, it was a sure sign of how fucked he was. 

Klaus recognized one of the men, the pink-haired who had tried to kidnap him. Next to him was a brown-haired guy the size of a sumo wrestler and about Luther's height. Pinkie was glaring at him while Sumo looked bored. They opened the tube and dragged him out, each holding one of Klaus's arms. Klaus let his entire body go limp and Sumo sighed, saying, "It's like he's fucking twelve."

"He licked me! He's six, at best," Pinkie said. 

Klaus smirked to himself and said, "Hey you're vampires, don't you have that super strength to help you with dead weight?" 

Apparently not, as they struggled to get him in the other room. Klaus would have laughed if he weren't petrified beyond belief. Once there, they tied him to a chair and wheeled in what looked like a dialysis machine. 

"I'm gonna kill this motherfucker," Pinkie grumbled. 

"No, you're not." 

The two men looked up as a third came into the room. He had strawberry blonde hair, chiseled features, and dressed like a vampire from a TV series with a broody protagonist. The black leather jacket and red velvet ascot were too fucking much and Klaus couldn't help laughing. Pinkie smacked the back of Klaus's head. 

"Fetch me a chair," the man said, and Sumo complied, grabbing one and placing it in front of Klaus. As they sat looking at each other eye to eye, he smiled. "My, you're a beauty." 

"And yet I haven't been able to do a thing with my hair," Klaus said sarcastically.

"Indeed. Do you know who I am?" 

"Hm, creepy hideout, daytime TV villain outfit, one smart henchman and one dumb one… I'd say you're probably Sanderson," Klaus said. 

"Impertinent, but then, I knew you would be," Sanderson replied. 

Sumo and Pinkie had finished strapping Klaus to the chair, and he couldn't move a muscle. Klaus asked, "Where's Dave?" 

"Dave? Dave… Oh, you must mean Scout. Haven't the foggiest," said Sanderson. "Of course, it's in his best interest that he remain in hiding, or flee the city altogether. The minute he found you he should have turned you over to me."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Yeah, big scary vampire war blah blah blah."

Sanderson smirked. "It's more than that, boy. After tonight, I will be the most powerful creature in this hemisphere. No one will be able to stop me, not even your family." 

"Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that's not happening. Seems my powers have up and fled," Klaus said. 

"Not as such. The Impossible Cage that Dr. Terminal built was made to block your access to your powers specifically. He was going to do so in order to kill you and then make a new cage for one of your siblings. Obviously, he was caught before he could use it. I'd thought it would mean I couldn't feed from you, however, necromancy is still in your blood," he replied. "Quite ingenious really, and the effects will last for several hours."

"The lab," Klaus muttered. "But Five said it was some kind of undead zombie maker."

"Ah, yes, Dr. Terminal's notes. I planted those to throw them off the scent. For someone as smart as your brother he was surprisingly easy to trick."

"God dammit..."

"Indeed." Sanderson smirked." I should have known what you were, but Hargreeves had me fooled. He made you out to be a regular medium, nothing truly extraordinary. He was trying to protect you." 

Klaus let out a bitter laugh. "Dad hated me and he would have let you kill me if he thought it would further his goals. You know he nearly let my sister Allison get taken out by the Murder Magician just to teach her a lesson? He was a prick." 

Sanderson hummed. "I suppose we'll never know." He looked up at Sumo and nodded. 

Sumo tied a tourniquet around Klaus's arm and faster than any junkie he'd ever met, tapped a vein. Klaus watched as his blood traveled up the line, and he asked, "What the hell are you doing?" 

"I know your history with narcotics, and while I'm aware you've been clean for some time, your blood still needs to be purified," Sanderson said. "This will drain you slowly and remove the impurities from your blood. Once that is done I will be invincible." 

"Not fucking likely," Klaus muttered.

"Oh? And who's going to rescue you? Your lover? Your family? Why aren't they here now?" Sanderson asked. Klaus didn't answer and he smirked. "No one is coming for you, Klaus. Enjoy this time while you can. I promise you a clean, pain-free death."

With that, Sanderson left the room, Pinkie following behind him. Sumo stayed, checking the machine to make sure it was working. Klaus sighed and closed his eyes. He prayed that Dave and his brothers and sisters would come soon. Or if they didn't, that Sanderson was right and his death would be without pain.


	9. where they can pump this venom, gaping hole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm updating a little early because I need a break this weekend so I wanted to get this done tonight. We're only two weeks away from the new season of Umbrella Academy and I'm really excited! I've even managed to get some coworkers to check out the show and now they're just as stoked for the new season as I am. Next week will be the last chapter of this fic and it's gonna get smutty so if you want to avoid that you can read up to a certain point and you should be good. 
> 
> Also I think it should be pretty obvious who a certain character in this chapter is modeled off of but if not you can always ask in the comments. Laters.

He wasn't sure how long he had. Klaus had started to get dizzy a while ago, and his vision was blurry. Klaus didn't know how long it took to bleed to death by machine, but it was happening. He wished he could see Dave or even the pain in the ass ghosts who always followed him around. 

As he was thinking about how tired he was, and how nice it would be to fall asleep, there was a noise that startled him out of his thoughts. Klaus opened his eyes. His lips curled into a smile as he heard Pinkie let out a shout and then fall silent. Sumo had just enough time to ask, "What was that?" Before he screamed and turned to dust.

Suddenly, Dave was in front of him. Klaus said, "Hey, Dave." 

"Klaus! Stay with me," he said. Klaus heard wood breaking and felt the needle come out of his arm.

"What the hell did they do to him?" Diego asked.

"They've been draining him. He needs blood now or he's going to die," Dave replied. 

"Looks like there's plenty here," Allison pointed out. 

"Does anyone know how to do a transfusion?" Vanya asked.

"Not me," Diego said, making Klaus snort. Of course not, why in the hell would the needle phobe know how to do a transfusion? 

"No idea," said Vanya.

"Allison maybe you could rumor someone--" Diego started.

"We don't have enough time, he's lost too much blood as it is," Dave said. "It's a miracle he's still breathing."

"Hey, don't get distracted," Luther said. "There's more coming and Sanderson got away. Dave's taking care of Klaus, let's do our job."

"Klaus? Can you hear me?" 

Klaus smiled again. "Ben. You came."

"Of course we did you, idiot. I can't believe you ran away like that," he groaned. 

"Ben, come on!" Five called. 

He squeezed Klaus's shoulder. "It'll be okay, I'll be back." And he ran out of sight. 

Dave kissed Klaus and asked, "Do you trust me?"

"With my life," he whispered.

"I love you." 

Dave bit Klaus's throat.

Klaus gasped, his body convulsing. He'd expected to feel high, like a shot of morphine or an orgasm. Instead, he felt peaceful, in a one with the universe kind of way. He could hear whispering all around him, hundreds of voices all calling out for his attention. 

And then his heart stopped and Klaus was dead.

This time, it wasn't a beautiful countryside with a rude little girl on a bike. It looked more like his first apartment, a real dump on the wrong side of the tracks. To be fair, it wasn't really his apartment. It was his girlfriend's apartment. Well, when he says girlfriend--

"Hello, Klaus." 

Klaus turned and there was a deathly pale man with dark hair and hazel eyes. He had a narrow face, pouty lips, and cheekbones that could probably cut glass. He was wearing all black. Klaus thought he looked vaguely familiar but he couldn't place him. Maybe a musician of some kind? "Who…" He trailed off.

"Oh sorry, I didn't go more traditional as I think it's a little hokey, don't you? Black robes and a big scythe, utterly done to death," he said. "Which I am, by the way. I'm Death. It's nice to see you again Klaus." 

"We've met?"

"Several times, but you don't remember. I've been there for every OD, every accident, all your close calls. And while I haven't reaped you yet, I will have to someday," Death said. 

"But not today," Klaus pointed out.

"You're more clever than you let on, but let's not jump to conclusions. Sit down," Death said, plopping on the couch. Klaus sat next to him.

"What's going to happen to my family? What about Dave? They'll be all right won't they?" Klaus asked. 

"That's not for me to tell you," Death said. "But I want to talk to you about what's going to happen now. Your boyfriend's had a daisy of an idea but he doesn't realize what he's done. Turning a necromancer into a vampire is like turning a devil worshipper into a demon. You're going to be juiced to high heaven."

"And that's bad?" Klaus asked. 

"No, but it is extreme. I know you have trouble with your powers, Klaus. I know that's why you've done every drug, drank every alcohol known to man, and slept around like sex was about to be outlawed. I'm not judging by the way. Being a human is tough, and a human with superpowers even more so," said Death. 

"You don't think I can handle it," Klaus concluded, then sighed. "I mean, I don't think I can handle it either. I'd never wish to be normal but like… Less of a fuck up would be nice." 

Death sighed. "You're not a fuck up, Klaus. Shit happens. Part of life is learning to deal with it. I just want to give you a heads up that it's about to get a lot harder." 

"Why would you want to do that?" 

"Because I'm going to give you a choice." 

Death stood and shifted in front of Klaus. The skin melted away from his face leaving only a skull. The black clothes changed to flowing robes, and a scythe appeared. "You must choose, Klaus Hargreeves. To either return to the world as a vampire or ascend to the afterlife. Remember, if you choose to return, I may not take you for some time, possibly never. And the power you knew will increase tenfold. Choose wisely."

Klaus was surprised he had to think about it. But he was trying to be a little less stupid, so he did take a few minutes. On the one hand, even more dead people following him around and yelling at him didn't sound fun. Also, he was pretty sure vampires couldn't get high so that sure as shit wouldn't work to quiet them down. 

But there was his family. Vanya was starting to come out of her shell and adjust to her powers. He still hadn't met his niece Claire and by God, he wanted to see her at least once. Luther was turning into a person not just Number One. Allison was becoming more confident in herself and not relying on her powers to make the life she wanted. Five was still an asshole, but now that he wasn't worried about the apocalypse he was learning to unwind. Diego was probably going to marry the lady cop any day now. Ben was having the time of his life and discovering so many new things he never got to experience. 

And then there was Dave. Beautiful, flawed, hurt Dave whose life was stolen from him. Dave who still had the same goofy smile he always had. Dave who had risked everything to rescue Klaus from a powerful enemy. Who was still the love of Klaus's life and always would be. 

It wasn't as hard of a decision as he thought. 

"I'll go back," Klaus said.

"I thought you might say that," Death said, and Klaus opened his eyes.

The first thing he noticed was his heart wasn't beating. The second thing that he noticed was Dave was staring down at him anxiously. 

"Hey again," Klaus said.

Dave grinned and kissed Klaus. "You're okay."

"Of course I am," he replied. "I met Death. He's kind of cool."

"Yeah, I met him too when I was turned. He's pretty decent if a little odd," Dave replied. "Can you stand?" 

"Let's see."

Dave helped Klaus up. He was fine. He didn't feel tired or insanely hungry or anything. Except for no heart beating and forgetting to breathe, Klaus felt normal. Healthy even. And then he felt something and he said, "Sanderson's coming. He thinks he can still use my blood to win." 

Klaus could feel his powers were back. They rushed over him full force, and with a wave of his hand, the dialysis machine crumpled. It was as though a giant fist had come down and smashed it. 

Sanderson appeared at the other end of the room, and when he saw Klaus he paused. "Scout, what have you done?" 

"What does it look like?" Klaus said and rolled his eyes. "And you know, I can't believe you tried to kill me. You're an idiot." 

"You--" But Sanderson stopped speaking.

Klaus reached out with his powers. He didn't have good control over it yet, but he knew what he could do. He could command Sanderson's body, make him do anything. He could make him jump up and down. He could make him spin in circles and cluck like a chicken. He could make him die. He felt Sanderson's fear, and… It made Klaus tired. 

He didn't want to be all-powerful or godlike. He just wanted a nap and maybe some fruit punch. However, Klaus also knew that they couldn't just let Sanderson go. 

"Dave, if you could take care of him, please," Klaus said, holding Sanderson so he couldn't escape.

Dave didn't hesitate. He pulled a stake from his pocket and rammed it into Sanderson's chest, rendering him a pile of dust. 

"What'd you do to him?" Dave asked. 

"Used my necromancy powers to immobilize his body. I could probably do it to you too but that wouldn't be much fun," Klaus said. 

Dave pulled him into a hug and they kissed. It was a little awkward now that they both had fangs, but Klaus sighed happily. 

"Really, guys?" 

They broke apart to see the rest of the Umbrella Academy had entered the room, covered in dust, and still carrying stakes. 

"You look like shit," Klaus said.

"Look who's talking," said Ben.


	10. and you must keep your soul, like a secret in your throat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are at the last chapter. I'm posting early because I'm off work today so I figured I might as well. Thank you again to everyone who's commented and left kudos. I hope everyone has enjoyed the story since it was a bundle of self indulgence. And yes it does get adult in this chapter. Thank you for reading!

They went back to the Academy, which Klaus had to be invited into even though it was his house too. He was getting concerned looks from his sisters, which wasn't much of a surprise what with Klaus now being undead and all. Once everyone was patched up and settled in the living room, Five started talking.

"I know I scared you when I disappeared," Five started. "I wasn't going after Dave, I should have made that more clear." 

"Where did you go?" Klaus asked.

"To find Sanderson's hideout. I thought if Dave still worked for him, that Sanderson's lair wouldn't be far. Diego told me you located him in Bricktown," said Five. "Unfortunately Sanderson was in Echo Park, which is on the other side of the city. I didn't find it until past dawn and when I did I knew you were inside. I came back here to tell everyone so we could rescue you."

"But by then Dave had shown up," Ben said. 

Klaus looked at Dave and he sighed. "I saw Sanderson grab you. I'm not strong enough to fight him and his men by myself. Thankfully Ben remembered me from Vietnam."

"It took us hours to get loose from the ghosts you set on us," Allison added. 

"I'm kind of surprised it didn't happen right away what with being kidnapped and all," Klaus admitted sheepishly. 

"They were pretty determined, which was a huge pain in the ass," grumbled Diego. 

"Anyway, by the time we got all of our ducks in a row it was sunset. Luther made a plan so that we could get in, save you, and also take out Sanderson's faction," Dave said. "I'm just sorry we didn't get there sooner." 

"You came, that's all that matters," Klaus replied, holding Dave's hand. He then looked at his siblings and said, "I'm really sorry. I wasn't thinking when I ran off and I almost got us all killed."

"Technically you did get yourself killed," Ben pointed out.

Klaus sighed. "Thank you, Ben, because that totally escaped my notice." He tucked a lock of hair behind his ear. "Also like, you guys seemed to be pretty quick to kill Dave." 

"That was my fault," Five said. 

"I know I didn't help," added Vanya. "I'm so sorry. We were worried about you and I know that doesn't excuse it but..." She trailed off.

"Yeah, I remember the whole thing with Leonard," Klaus said. 

Vanya looked at Five. He was clenching his jaw and Vanya elbowed him in the side. "I'm sorry for saying we should kill your boyfriend."

"Thank you. Also uh… I don't know how to tell you this but Death says I'm going to be ten times as powerful. So we should like, figure that out or something," said Klaus.

"What do you mean?" Diego asked. 

"It's part of the turning process," said Dave. "Every vampire meets Death. You have the chance to accept his gift and not rise, or refuse it and become immortal. I almost accepted but then I thought about Klaus and… Well, we know how that turned out." 

"I didn't want to leave you," Klaus admitted. "Any of you. I love you guys. I want to be here for you every second of every night." 

"So you said you're going to be more powerful?" Five asked, getting back to business. Because that's who Five was as a person. Stunningly practical. 

Klaus sighed. "Yeah, uh, Death says my power's turned up. Which is why I was able to fuck up Sanderson."

"How do you feel now?" Asked Five.

He stopped, thinking about the question. How did he feel? More powerful, and weirdly more in control. Knowing that he could do anything with his powers should have overwhelmed and terrified him. Except, his family was with him, and so was Dave. If anyone could help him stay grounded it was them. 

"I feel pretty good," said Klaus. 

"You can understand however why we'd be a little hesitant to have you around," Luther said. 

"Shut up--" Diego started.

Klaus held up his hand. "No, I get it, the blood-drinking is probably going to be a real pain in the butt to get around."

"You can, though," Dave said.

"How?" Klaus asked.

"The night you saw me at the diner. It was pig's blood in the bucket. Butcher shops aren't open this late, but Melanie's known me for a long while. She always gets blood for me during the day and I pay her back in the evenings. You don't have to feed off of people if you don't want to," Dave told him. "Even if you do, you don't have to kill them."

"And she's just okay with buying blood for you? Did you tell her what you're doing with it?" Klaus asked.

Dave snorted. "I told her I make chocolate with it." 

"Why would she even believe that?" Diego asked.

"There are chocolate recipes that use blood. I told her I can't get it myself because my boyfriend is a vegetarian," Dave said.

"That's incredible and you're a genius," Klaus said, laughing, and kissed Dave's cheek. He wanted to drag him upstairs, rip all his clothes off, and get wild. Dave was grinning back at him cheekily, and Klaus said, "If you guys don't mind, Dave and I need to talk." 

"Talk?" Luther said, confused.

Allison was smirking and she said, "Understandable. You should have a nice long talk." 

Vanya giggled and shook her head, while Diego and Five rolled their eyes. 

"I don't get it," Luther muttered. Ben whispered something to him and he said, "Oh! Uh… Yeah, sure. We'll be down here if you need anything." 

"Later bitches," Klaus said, vaulting over the couch. Dave stood and circled around it like a normal person. He then took Klaus's hand and they went up the stairs together. 

They didn't speak until they reached Klaus's room, and when they did Dave said, "Nice. I take it you decorated yourself."

"Yeah, it's from my 'Junkie Goth' period," Klaus said and slammed the door to his room, making sure to lock it for good measure. He could feel several ghosts floating around, and he said, "Look, spirits, we can talk later. But I haven't seen my man since 1968 so if you don't want to see naked time you may wanna skedaddle." 

"Actually could you ask them all to leave? I don't like the idea of being watched," Dave said.

He chuckled. "Spoilsport Okay everybody out." He felt the specters wisping past. None of them were screaming, or demanding his attention. Instead of ravenous demons, they were at his command. Something he'd never realized as a kid and was only barely grasping now. 

Dave came closer and wrapped his arms around Klaus, his hands slipping into Klaus's back pockets. "How are you feeling? Any regrets?" 

"Nah," Klaus replied. "I mean, I'm not good at regrets anyway." He hooked his chin on Dave's shoulder and added, "I've missed you so much." 

"I've missed you, too. You're the piece of myself I didn't know I was missing," Dave told him, stroking Klaus's hair. 

"I wish I had known you were in the city earlier. I'd have looked you up before the apocalypse happened."

"I'm kind of glad I didn't. I probably would have kidnapped you and you'd have never grown up."

"Okay, that's admittedly a little weird."

"I know it."

Dave pulled his head back and kissed Klaus. It was chaste at first, but when Dave delved his tongue into Klaus's mouth, he groaned and kissed back hard. Klaus was growling, tugging on Dave's hair and digging his fingers into Dave's back. He heard something rip, and Klaus groaned when he realized Dave had torn his shirt. 

"Are we going to rip each other's clothes off? That's kinda hot," Klaus whispered.

"I'm game if you are," Dave replied. 

Klaus didn't answer, instead, he shredded Dave's shirt and tossed the rags to the floor. He was about to kiss Dave again, but Dave stopped him. He reached out and touched the dog tags and asked, "Are those mine?" 

"Yeah. I--" 

Dave pressed a finger to his lips. "I love you." He gingerly removed the dog tags and dropped them on the bedside table. Klaus kicked his shoes off and got to work on Dave's jeans. Dave was getting his shoes off so it was awkward for a moment. They shifted around, helping each other undress and kissing again and again.

When they were both naked, Klaus pushed Dave onto the bed, asking, "Do you want to do this like old times?"

"Wouldn't we need a chair for that instead of a bed?" Dave asked. 

Klaus snorted. "Not at all. Hang on." He reached under the mattress and pulled out a bottle of lube. "I'm going to get myself ready, and you are going to watch."

"Yes," Dave groaned. He scooted back on the bed so he was sitting up against the wall. He was hard already, and lightly stroking himself. 

He moved so he was in front of Dave, but not touching him, at least not yet. He was on his knees and squirted lube over his fingers. He reached behind himself, making sure Dave could see and pushed a finger inside. 

It felt so good, not the action itself but knowing that Dave was watching. He could hear Dave panting, and when he felt hands on his hips Klaus said, "You can touch me but don't help, not until I tell you to." 

"Got it," Dave replied, and gave Klaus a smack on the ass. 

He yelped, then moaned. "Tease."

"It's only a tease if I don't follow through," Dave replied. 

Klaus chuckled and went back to it. He pushed another finger inside himself, knowing exactly what he could take. He worked himself open as quickly as he dared, knees trembling, and cock leaking. He wanted to beg Dave to fuck him. He wanted so many things. But this was their first time together again, and Klaus wanted it to be perfect for Dave. So he was showing a little more restraint than he ordinarily would.

When he slipped a third finger inside, he heard Dave gasp. "You should see yourself," Dave said. 

"Oh? What do I look like?" Klaus asked. 

"Gorgeous," Dave replied. His hand was running down Klaus's thigh, and then it was gone, slipping between Klaus's legs to tease his cock.

"Oh God," Klaus moaned. 

"Good?" 

"Stop. I need--"

"Yes." 

Dave moved his hand away. Klaus removed his fingers from his ass and grabbed the lube, passing it to Dave. He was trembling with the effort to stay still. When he felt Dave's hands on him again, they were guiding him back. 

Klaus repositioned and sank onto Dave's cock. 

"Fuck," Dave whimpered in Klaus's ear.

"You can say that again," he replied.

They froze, trying to adjust to the sensation of being physically joined once again. Dave was pressed against Klaus's back, one hand over his heart and the other on his cock. It was the most intense and intimate moment of Klaus's life and he almost wanted to cry. 

"Are you ready for me?" Klaus asked.

"Do it," Dave replied.

Klaus rose and pushed himself back. He did so several times, experimenting, seeing how it felt. He hadn't had sex in a long, long time. Not since his last leave in Vietnam. He could be forgiven for taking a while to get the tempo right. 

Dave meanwhile was touching Klaus in a possessive manner that Klaus loved. He nibbled on Klaus's earlobe, he dragged nails down his side, Dave even remembered Klaus's weak spot on the left side of his neck. And all the while he never stopped stroking Klaus's dick. 

"Oh God," Klaus moaned, waves of pleasure washing through him. "I think I'm--I haven't in a long time."

"It's okay, we have all night," Dave said. 

He was shivering, and his orgasm was coming faster than he would like. Dave's hand moved faster, and Klaus did his best to keep up with his hips. Suddenly, Klaus found Dave's wrist in front of his mouth. When he felt Dave's fangs sink into his throat, he understood why. 

The scent of blood in the air was dizzying, and Klaus wanted a taste of it. He grabbed Dave's wrist and bit down hard, drawing the blood out in greedy mouthfuls. Dave was thrusting into him, Klaus snapping his hips downward to meet him at an inhuman pace. Dave let out a low growl and kept drinking, Klaus doing the same. 

When Dave came inside of him, that pushed Klaus over the edge. 

He came so hard he was sobbing as he rode it out. Klaus collapsed against Dave, a sweaty, bloody, boneless mess. He'd never felt so good in his life. He'd pulled his mouth away from Dave's wrist, and had closed his eyes to enjoy the moment. 

Dave was kissing the other side of Klaus's neck, the one that he hadn't bitten. His hands were still roaming Klaus's body, and he said, "I've dreamed of this, you know?" 

"You have?"

"Yes, I dreamed of you. I didn't know your name but I knew your face and your scent. And now that I have you again I'm never letting you go," Dave said. 

"If you think you're getting away from me you have another thing coming," Klaus replied and Dave chuckled before thrusting forward, making Klaus gasp.

"I'm ready to go again whenever you are."

"Already?" 

"Our refractory periods are… Short. We could do this all night if you wanted to." Dave paused and turned Klaus's head so they were looking at each other. "Do you?"

He grinned. "Oh God yes."

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](https://talkingcinemalight.tumblr.com/)


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